Amid fierce competition in Korea's offline protein drink market, Namyang Dairy's "Take Fit" has secured the No. 1 single-brand sales position for two consecutive quarters, surpassing Orion's "Dr. Yu Pro."
According to retail POS (point-of-sale) data from Market Link, released by the Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) on the 4th, Namyang Dairy's protein drink "Take Fit" recorded sales of 8.214 billion won in the first quarter this year, a 64.1% increase compared to the same period last year. In contrast, the previous leader, Orion's Dr. Yu Pro, saw sales drop to 6.197 billion won, a 15.9% decline, finishing in second place. Third-place Binggrae's "The Protein" remained at 5.956 billion won, roughly flat (-0.1%) compared to last year.
In terms of sales ranking, the positions of Take Fit and Dr. Yu Pro brands flipped starting from the fourth quarter of last year. Dr. Yu Pro peaked at 10.733 billion won in the third quarter of last year, then fell to 7.69 billion won in the fourth quarter and further dropped to 6.197 billion won in the first quarter this year—a 42.2% decline over two quarters. Take Fit also saw a slight decrease from 10.332 billion won in the third quarter of last year to 8.214 billion won in the first quarter this year, but its market share rose from 13.9% in the first quarter of last year to 21.7% in the first quarter this year, an increase of 7.9 percentage points.
Namyang Dairy explained that its strategy since launching Take Fit in 2022—segmenting product lines and selling through different channels—has proven effective. The lineup includes "Take Fit Max" (24g protein) for pre- and post-workout use, water-type "Take Fit Pro" (25g), shake "Bread Mill," and ultra-high protein LINE products "Monster" and "Extreme."
While overall market growth has slowed, sales are increasingly concentrated in just a few brands. Based on the first quarter of this year, total sales of the top 10 brands reached 37.776 billion won, a mere 4.6% increase compared to the same period last year. Among them, only Take Fit, Ignis' "Lapnosh" (up 25.7%), and Il Dong Hudi's "Hyumoon" (up 0.3%) saw sales growth. Conversely, products like Mael Health Nutrition's "Selects" (down 16.9%), Orion's "Dr. Yu" (down 13.1%), and Maeil Dairy's "Selects" (down 7.7%) all declined.
Competition over protein content continues. Namyang Dairy increased the protein content of "Take Fit Monster" from 43g in March to 45g, and further raised it to 47g last month. In May, it also launched "Take Fit Extreme" containing 60g of protein. Orion surpassed cumulative sales of 10 million bottles for its "Dr. Yu PRO Protein Drink 40g," which was released in 2024, two years after launch. Orion also fueled the high-content competition last month by releasing a new product: "Dr. Yu PRO Protein Drink 62g Matcha."
By manufacturer, Orion remains No. 1 with combined sales of Dr. Yu Pro and Dr. Yu totaling 10.249 billion won. Meanwhile, Mael Health Nutrition, formerly a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maeil Dairy, completed its merger with Maeil Dairy in May. From May onward, the "Selects" brand will be sold as a unified product. Combined sales of the "Selects" brand across both companies amount to 5.5 billion won, with a market share of 14.6%. With rankings diverging between brands and manufacturers, competition for market leadership is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, Market Link's data covers only offline channels, limiting its representativeness of the entire market. The current POS data reflects only five offline channels: large discount stores, chain supermarkets, convenience stores, independent supermarkets, and general food stores. According to Orion, the sales ratio between online and offline channels for "Dr. Yu PRO Protein Drink" is 2:8.
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